The cellular phone device has become a very popular and indispensable tool. Its portability provides the most convenient method of voice communication for people in different locations. If any emergency occurs, such as kidnapping or abduction, the victim can dial 911 for help very easily with a cellular phone in hand. However, in many large cities there are still many women and young children missing without a trace each year. Those people usually are the victims of the violent crimes of murder, kidnapping, or sex offender abduction. Some of the adult victims might have carried a cellular phone with them while the kidnapping or abduction occurred, but for some unknown reason they were unable to dial 911 for help when their lives were in danger.
It is not hard to imagine that usually when kidnappers, abductors, or sex offenders commit a crime, they typically want to take control over the victims in the shortest time possible and thereby prevent the victims from using a cellular phone to dial 911 for help. Furthermore, it is not easy for the victims to describe the emergency situation and the location of the crime to the rescue team in just a few seconds on the phone. It would be most difficult for children who don't know how to use a cellular phone to call for help in such a desperate situation. Therefore, a need exists for an affordable telecommunication device that is easier and faster to use in an emergency situation, one that might even deter an attack in the first place.
The concept of transmitting audio and video messages via e-mails has already been applied in video e-mail products such as “SeeMail” by RealMedia Inc. and “VideoLink Mail” by Smith Micro Software Inc. This concept has also been disclosed in several U.S. patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,861 issued to Yu that relates to a device transmitting audio and image information remotely via e-mail; U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,231 issued to Agraharam, et al. which relates to a method and system for delivering a voice message via an alias e-mail address; U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,588 issued to Dawson that relates to a method and apparatus for providing an audio visual e-mail system; U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,276 which relates to systems and methods for providing voice mail notification from a separate voice mail system to a mobile telephone; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,248 that describes an e-mail system with video e-mail player. Other related patents found during a routine search include U.S. Pat. No. 6,697,458 that discloses a system and method for synchronizing voice mailbox with e-mail box; U.S. Pat. No. 6,748,421 which describes a method and system for conveying video messages; U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,359 that relates to voice reply to incoming e-mail messages via e-mail; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,407 which relates to a system and method for integrating audio and visual messaging.
However, to our knowledge, the prior art does not include a means to send both voice and picture messages in an e-mail form to a 911 center within a few seconds which would be valuable in making life-saving emergency calls. None of the aforementioned patents is believed to detract from the patentability of the claimed invention.
Although the existing 911 call system provides for the necessary response in many situations, particularly those where an accident or crime has already occurred, a faster way of communication that includes images would be more valuable in certain situations such as in the seconds during a threat period before a crime or dangerous situation fully develops.